Papa sets his dagger down and releases an exasperated breath. “Days. Weeks at best.”
I’m not surprised by his prediction. Zek isn’t one to let conflict simmer and find a rational conclusion. He’s all knee-jerk reaction.
“And if we were to go to war tomorrow, what are the chances that we win?” I ask.
“We might win a battle or two, but long-term… this would all become Allaji territory.”
I bite down on my bottom lip to stop the tears from coming. My chin trembles from the effort, but I manage to keep them at bay.
No one, except for Ulric and me, understands the full extent of the horror that will be unleashed on our land. Pliris sees the missing people that are working the Allaji fields under extreme duress. The hunger, the torture, the death—they have no idea how merciless it all is. Not even Kyron can comprehend the nightmare that awaits if we do not defeat the shifters.
“Kyron needs to be focused on the right things,” I flatly say.
“He does.”
I tilt my head and lift an eyebrow. “But he’s not.”
“I think he questions his ability to lead as king.”
“So he says, but I don’t get it. He was a phenomenal general.”
Papa shrugs and says, “He had time to prove himself as a soldier. Those under his command were personally impacted by him. He sweated and bled with them. He saved their lives. That trust wasn’t given overnight, Raelle. But his rule was.”
That leads me back to my original thought. Kyron needs to be focused on our people, on earning their trust, rescuingthe Cyffred, and preparing for war. Making me his queen will not keep Pliris from falling apart. He thinks I’m an answer to everything that is going wrong. In fact, I might be the one who damns us all.
It’s one thing to go against a sovereign and another to provoke the wrath of the Statera. It has given its judgment for my transgressions. I can’t change what I did or the consequences it brought upon me. Not that I would have done it any differently. And just because I’ve been disgraced doesn’t mean that I’m of no value to my kingdom. I can still serve my people and spend the rest of my life with Kyron. Our life together just won’t be what we thought it would.
“Papa, would you be upset if I no longer wanted to be queen? If I took that option off the table for Kyron,” I ask.
I can almost see the onslaught of thoughts bombarding him as he opens his mouth and closes it again, trapping his initial thought inside. My entire life has revolved around me taking the crown. I was the unifier, the first Cyffred queen. Micah’s final wish was that I rule with Kyron. To denounce what was always said to be mine would feel wrong. Yet, it’s the right thing to do.
Papa runs his hand over his face, pulling on his beard until it slips through his hold. “I don’t think breaking things off with Kyron will fare well for everyone, including you. He was lost without you, Raelle. The two of you are meant to be together.”
“I agree. And I don’t intend to leave his side, but he has to let go of the notion that he can overrule the Statera and make me his queen. It’s a fool’s errand.”
“Perhaps, but Kyron isn’t one to give up easily once he has his mind set on something. He’s a lot like someone else I know in that way.”
“I’m well aware,” I whisper.
Our shared stubbornness could be our downfall together. Two strong-willed people normally clash until they destroy oneanother, but we’re each so bendable when it comes to what the other wants, especially Kyron.
Papa shifts in his seat and our eyes lock. “What are you planning, Raelle? Only something extreme would force him to give up on making you his queen.”
“You’re right, and he won’t like it, but it will allow us to remain together while taking his focus off the uncontrollable. Besides, a crown doesn’t make me any more his parah than I already am.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He stares out at my mother, smiling when her face lights up with something Salone says. My parents don’t share a parah bond, but what they have is just as precious and strong. They would go to the ends of the five kingdoms and beyond for each other.
And Kyron and I… I consider us blessed to still have the bond we do. Crowns and rings be damned. I could still serve our kingdom at his side. We could still spend the rest of our lives together. We would just have to go about it in a different way.
One that will make him upset, but he will eventually understand.
At least, I hope he does.
Fifteen
KYRON
Ihave never fought so hard to remain upright in a chair. A constant flow of people has come to me to solve disputes and request extra provisions to care for their families and land. I’ve listened to old men fighting over property lines and heard single mothers beg for food to feed their children. Their worries tug at my emotions, pulling them from one extreme to another—frustration, heartbreak, anger. I wish I was numb to it all, that I could hear their concerns and make a judgment without it draining my mental state. Tossing my crown on the floor and taking a nap in my throne has major appeal right now.
